Chicago Bears News: Jonathan Taylor trade idea shut down

There had been an increase in speculation over the course of the past week that the Chicago Bears were going to be in the mix for trading for Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor.

While there is no doubt that the Bears have the draft capital and financial resources to both trade for Taylor and sign him to a long-term contract extension, the idea of the trade never made sense for the Bears.

The first reason why it did not make sense is that the Bears very much are moving forward with the idea that Khalil Herbert is going to be the primary running back for the offense this season. Furthermore, there is a real belief that Herbert can be a dynamic offensive player given the opportunity to be the primary running back.

The second reason why it did not make sense is that the Bears are high on rookie running back Roschon Johnson. Johnson was selected in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft but has already earned reps with the first-team offense during training camp. In fact, there is a growing sense that Johnson may take the starting job from Herbert before the season concludes.

The third reason why it did not make sense is that the Bears have an “in case of an emergency, break glass” option in veteran running back D’Onta Foreman. Foreman rushed for over 900 yards last season after becoming the Carolina Panthers’ starting running back after Chris McCaffrey was traded to the San Francisco 49ers.

Not trading for Jonathan Taylor was the right move for the Chicago Bears.

Those are three valid reasons why the Bears were not going to be trading for Taylor and that is before we even mention that the team is not in a position to trade for Taylor. The Bears are far from a Super Bowl contender and with Taylor already showing signs of regression last season, a trade would have been as much of a failure as the Khalil Mack trade was in 2018 and that was a deal that made sense at the time.

That is why there is comfort in the news over the weekend that ESPN’s Adam Schefter shut down the idea of the Bears trading for Taylor.

The Bears have two running backs on their rookie deals and that is going to allow the team to spend their available resources on other, more important, needs such as the offensive line and pass rush.